Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The Visual Dictionary is an essential guide to Episode One of the continuing Star Wars saga. DK's renowned Eyewitness style brings the characters, costumes, droids, and gadgetry of the Star Wars universe to life in astonishing visual detail. Highly defined, annotated photography shows and explains the culture, background, and technology of this unfolding epic struggle between good and evil. See the terrifying anatomy of Naboo sea monster, a wild podrace on Tatooine, Battle Droids in combat. Discover the finery of Queen Amidala's court, the Jedi's sacred beliefs, the Nemoidians' bizarre customs and technology. Explore the secrets of the Wheel Droids, the underwater world of Jar Jar, the Byzantine intrigue of Coruscant, and much, much more! Together with the Star Wars Episode I Incredible Cross Sections, these books create a definitive Star Wars Episode I reference library. Exciting photography and exhaustive research reveal all the Star Wars: Episode 1 characters, creatures, droids, and equipment. See the new, digitally created cut-away views of C-3P0's photoreceptor eye, the inner workings of a battle droid's head, and Yoda's lightsaber. Explore the extensive Jedi and Sith weaponry, the Podracers, Pit droids, viewscreens, and Gungan battle equipment. Then delve into the secrets of Anakin's hovel and Watto's junkshop and every detail of the Destroyer Droid weaponry and equipment! Author David West Reynolds was given extensive access to the famed Lucasfilm archives at Skywalker Ranch in California. Key objects from the movies have been re-photographed and even re-created by expert consultants from Industrial Light and Magic, George Lucas's award-winning special-effects production company. The result is a unique and fascinating reference work that reveals the characters and creatures of the new adventure as they appear nowhere else!

Synopsis:

Text and illustrations present characters from episode I of "Star Wars" and the technology they use, including Qui-Gon Jinn and his wrist hologram projector, the space freighters of the Nemoidians, and the lightsabers of the Jedi Knights.

About the Author

Before becoming involved with Star Wars and Lucasfilm, Dr. David West Reynolds earned his Ph.D. in Classical Archaeology at the University of Michigan, specializing in ancient Egypt and Imperial Rome. His studies and field work have taken him to places as diverse as Anasazi cliff cities in Utah, Inca fortresses in the mountains of Peru, and Swahili ruins in the jungles of East Africa. In addition to his scholarly work, Dr. Reynolds taught archaeology in the college classroom, as well as guiding tours in the field. In 1995 Reynolds undertook a project to re-locate the filming sites in North Africa where the desert planet scenes had been shot in 1976 for the first Star Wars movie. Employing his archaeological skills he successfully tracked down these remote sites and even found 20-year-old Star Wars props still lying out in the open desert. Reynolds wrote a popular magazine article about his journey, and was surprised to receive a call from Lucasfilm. The company revealed that all their records of the old sites had been lost, and they asked him to guide them back to the Star Wars locations in search of sites for the new film, The Phantom Menace. Reynolds subsequently carried out further Star Wars location scouting in South America, but it was for his communication skills that he was eventually hired full-time by Lucasfilm. At Skywalker Ranch, Reynolds held a position on the marketing team behind the record-setting launch of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. In the last two years, in addition to numerous magazine articles he has written several Star Wars books. Four of those books have been New York Times bestsellers, one reaching #1 on that list. Reynolds is now a full-time author and consultant, president and CEO of the consulting firm Phaeton Group Inc., a "constellation of talents" ranging from communications and marketing specialists to scientific engineering, and security experts. A man of many interests, Reynolds has written video games, climbed to the highest mountains in several countries, excavated rare dinosaur eggshells, and researched thousand-year-old books at the Vatican manuscript library. In the course of unusual consulting work he has sculpted a full-size dinosaur skeleton, created models of historic 1950s spacecraft designs, and acted as writer-presenter for television documentaries, including an appearance on Omnibus for the BBC. In his former home state of Indiana, Reynolds explored unmapped caves and learned the sport of rock climbing. Dr. Reynolds remains active in archaeology, continuing to publish scholarly articles and deliver invited lectures as he develops new projects in urban and color analysis for the field. Reynolds lives with his wife Ann in Marin County, California, and spends his spare time touring the beautiful California coast.

"Synopsis"
by Libri,
Text and illustrations present characters from episode I of "Star Wars" and the technology they use, including Qui-Gon Jinn and his wrist hologram projector, the space freighters of the Nemoidians, and the lightsabers of the Jedi Knights.

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